There But for the Grace (18 Feb. 1991)

Two guys whack a priest in the head with a metal pipe, drag him into a construction site and proceed to rob him of everything valuable. Meanwhile, MacGyver and a woman are attending a ... See full summary »

Director:

William Gereghty

Writers:

Lee David Zlotoff (creator), John Considine

Stars:

Richard Dean Anderson, Dana Elcar, Scott Bellis

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Richard Dean Anderson	...	MacGyver
Dana Elcar	...	Pete Thornton (credit only)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott Bellis	...	Danny
Paul Bittante	...	Guard
Garrison Christiohn	...	Paul Landau (as Garrison Chrisjohn)
John Considine	...	Aaron Sandler / Rooter
Nicolas Coster	...	Doc
Todd Duckworth	...	Riker
Blu Mankuma	...	Lt. Rhome
Becky Maynes	...	Allison
David McLeod	...	Mooney
Laurie Murdoch	...	Father Jim
Amanda O'Leary	...	Homeless Girl
Marie Stillin	...	Rachel
Rebecca Toolan	...	Chairperson

Storyline

Two guys whack a priest in the head with a metal pipe, drag him into a construction site and proceed to rob him of everything valuable. Meanwhile, MacGyver and a woman are attending a hearing about the homeless situation in the area and start wondering why Father Jim is late. The woman is Rachel, Father Jim's assistant whom he had instructed to say to MacGyver "black and blue" should he be late. It's an old expression from their hockey days, a call for help. Then the word arrives: Father Jim has been taken to hospital in a critical condition. His speak makes of little sense. He mumbles something of Danny and Doc. The police deem in unlikely that the muggers will be caught. Then the doctor comes with the news: Father Jim has expired. It's time for MacGyver to start an investigation of his own.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Details

Release Date:

18 February 1991 (USA)

Filming Locations:

The Bridge Studios, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Quotes

Doc: And as you probably know, it can happen fast. One day you're... you're a member of society and the next thing you know you're invisible.

User Reviews

Waste of time

This episode is one of those 13-in-a-12 ones, where an Evil Scammer has a scam going on that someone has stumbled upon, has him killed and frames it as a mugging. Two things, however, made this episode extremely annoying. First, the really painful music, even by '80s TV standards, just horrible. Second, the dumb security guard, who stops the knifer and MacGyver-disguised-as-a-homeless-person. The knifer says: "He tried to mug me!" and MacGyver says "He's lying." The Guard yells for him to shut up and let's the knifer continue. After listening to a more detailed description of the supposed events, the guard instructs the knifer to go inside to the office and call the police, while he keeps MacGyver trapped in the alley with a security dog, even though MacGyver claims he saw the man knife someone just a moment before. WTF? This is either an insult from the writer against the viewers' intelligence or the security guards in general. If it's an insult against the viewers' intelligence, does he really think we can accept the guards stupidity as plausible? If it's an insult against security guards in general, does he think they are that poorly trained? That they would let a suspect go? Furthermore, it's all lazy writing in the first place? Surely the knifer could have lost MacGyver by skill, not by a handy plot twist? Aargh. This episode is one for only the hardcore MacGyver fans.